Crowe Horwath
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African Footprint
Issue 15 - April 2015
Technical Newsletter of the Crowe Horwath International African firms
Inside This Issue:
Cameroon
Location
Cameroon is located in the gulf of Guinea, strategically in the heart of Africa
at the crossroads of the tropical north and the equatorial south. Cameroon
is bordered to the north by the Republic of Chad, to the east by the Central
African Republic, to the south by Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo
Brazzaville and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Nigeria. The capital
of Cameroon is Yaounde. Cameroon has a total land area of 475 650 km²,
a population of 19,4 million inhabitants and a population growth rate of
2.87% p.a. The average population density is 41,81 inhabitants per km².
Cameroon has three main religions - Christianity, Islam and Animists
amongst others. French and English are the two official languages.
Cameroon
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Horwath Leveton Boner Academic Achievements
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Budget Highlights Mauritius 2015/2016
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South Africa Relief for Foreign Taxes Paid
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Economic indicators
Cameroon uses the Franc as its currency and the GDP per capita is equal
to U.S. $1244. Cameroon has an inflation rate of 2.5% and a growth rate of
4.6%. Its foreign direct investment is rated at 2.5% of GDP (2014).
Cameroon's main exports are - cocoa, coffee, wood, alumina, rubber,
banana and cotton.
Why invest in Cameroon
Top 8 reasons to invest in Cameroon 1
Gateway to CEMAC area Cameroon offers many advantages as a gateway to the large CEMAC
economic area which is a group of six countries sharing a common
currency, the CFA franc.
Africa is often described as a mosaic of countries. Equatorial Africa
offers a small-scale version of this larger mosaic, with its economic
and monetary community called Communauté Economiqueet
Monétaired' Afrique Centrale (CEMAC). CEMAC represents a
market of almost 45 million inhabitants, and an annual GDP of
roughly U.S. $100 billion.
Audit Tax Advisory
Feedback from our
Readers!
Should you wish a specific topic to
be covered in our next issue,
please let us know by emailing
your request to our editor
kent.karro@crowehorwath.co.za
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Political stability Cameroon's political system is a multi-party democracy, with upper and
lower chambers. The judiciary is independent, using a mixture of British,
French and local laws.
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Large domestic consumer market With a population of approximately 20 million people, and access to the
45-million strong CEMAC markets, Cameroon has a substantial market
with sufficient domestic demand to provide assistance to foreign investors.
Cameroon's role as a regional light manufacturing player is bound to grow
as it expands its “big brother” role for smaller neighboring countries such
as Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville and other
francophone countries. Cameroon's relatively good infrastructure
(roads and rail) provide the backbone for trade growth.
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Special economic zones Cameroon has created economic zones to help develop foreign direct
investment and attract investors. The country enacted laws and incentives
in 2013 to boost the creation of these zones.
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Strong banking and finance sector Cameroon possesses a strong and dynamic banking sector with thirteen commercial banks having assets of about
$9.3 billion.
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Strong economic growth Cameroon has seen healthy economic growth over the past years, thanks to conservative management of
government wealth from oil revenues. Annual growth rates have exceeded 5% per annum for the past two years.
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Balanced economic fabric Unlike many other African countries, Cameroon is not a mono-source economy. In addition to its oil wealth,
Cameroon also has important agricultural, manufacturing and financial sectors. In addition to oil refining, the
country also has a large aluminum smelter, several large food processors, ship repairs, wood processing, paper
and pulp production, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
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Foreign Direct Investment needed Overall in 2013, UNCTAD estimates that a total of $360 million of inbound FDI entered Cameroon.
Setting up a company in Cameroon
Cameroon has about 93 000 registered companies. Despite the difficulties in setting up a company, the good news is that
simplification is on its way, with the establishment of economic zones and single –stop windows. These windows will
enable foreign investors to accomplish all administrative procedures in one step, without having to visit different ministries
and administrations.
Five steps to setting up a company in Cameroon -Investment Incentives
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Fiscal and customs incentives ?
Exemption from registration duties at creation of enterprise;
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Exemption from capital gains tax;
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Exemption from duties on transfer of assets;
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Exemption from value added tax on service provided by foreigners for the purpose
of investments;
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Exemption from registration of contracts;
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Exemption from payment of customs duties and VAT for equipment and materials
linked to the investment program;
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Exemption from the payment of registration duties (on leases, instruments recording
increases in capital, etc), or VAT;
Investment opportunities Some key sectors are agriculture, forestry, mining and semi-processing, industry-public
works and construction, services, energy and tourism.
Agriculture Cameroon has a diversified commodity based economy. The agricultural sector represents
about 22% of GDP, employs 70% of the working population and a growth rate of 2% for
export commodities and 3% for food.
Forestry Forestry exploitation represents 20% of export revenue.
Mining & Semi-Processing Cameroon has a high potential with 52 types of mineral substances:
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Precious stones (gold, diamond, sapphire, platinum, graphite, etc.);
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Energy related substances (petroleum, natural gas, lignite, schist bitumen, uranium, etc.);
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Metallic substances (titanium, bauxite, cobalt, nickel, iron, chromium, magnesium, lead, zinc, tungsten, etc.);
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building materials related substances, marble;
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Mineral resources with important reserves: crude oil, natural gas, titane-oxyd, bauxite, uranium and iron ore;
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Cameroon's proven gas reserves.
Industry, Public Works & Construction ?
Cameroon has a competitive advantage in some sectors such as timber processing and agro industry.
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Construction or rehabilitation of basic infrastructure will boost the sector.
Oil & Gas Cameroon is the sixth largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa with oil reserves estimated at 400 million barrels in
January 2004.The downstream oil industry in Cameroon is also an important sector of the country's economy.
Consumption of liquid fuel products is currently in the region of 900,000 tons per annum.
Tourism Cameroon has great tourism potential:
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Several natural reserves in the north region.
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Folklore attractions in the west region.
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Beaches and the reserves in the South-West region.
About Audit & Financial Consultants (AFC), Cameroon
Audit & Financial consultants (AFC) is a Cameroonian based audit and consulting firm created in 2012 and located in
Douala the economic capital of Cameroon, with offices in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) and Congo (Brazzaville). AFC is
situated in the economic capital of Cameroon. Tel: 233 42 19 69/650604778 Email: info@afc-cm.com
Our niche market
AFC is ideally suited to:
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National companies
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Subsidiaries of multinationals and listed companies
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Private enterprises
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Proprietary limited companies who are not a priority for the big four
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Companies that have out grown their small practitioners
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Companies that require assistance in doing business in other countries
Jean Calvin Njomngang
Audit & Financial Consultants (AFC)
Cameroon
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Horwath Leveton Boner Academic Achievements
We congratulate Reinette for obtaining her Masters
Degree in Taxation with excellent results and also
Carina who completed her CA(SA).
We also congratulate our three alumni students who
completed their CA (SA) - Ahmed, Karishma and
Romana.
You’ve worked long and hard to achieve your goal!
Mark Watson
Horwath Leveton Boner
Johannesburg, South Africa
From left: Ahmed, Carina, Reinette, Romana & Karishma
Budget Highlights - Mauritius 2015/2016
The Finance Minister the Honourable Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo GCSK delivered the 2015/16
Budget speech entitled “Mauritius at the Crossroad.”
The financial crisis followed by the Eurozone crisis, resulted in a growth rate in Mauritius of
3.5% p.a. between 2009 and 2013. In his budget, the Honourable Finance Minister indicated
that he wanted to make Mauritius “Un Vaste Chantier de Developpement” with measures
projecting an outlook where Mauritius will grow at 5.3% p.a. from 2016.
The major highlights of the budget for financial services are:
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Providing incentives to asset and fund managers if they relocate their front-office to Mauritius. This will help to
strengthen the Mauritius investment platform attractiveness during the uncertain years to come (depending on the
status of the India–Mauritius DTA)
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Developing the skills set of financial services professionals on the island will enhance the long term growth of the
financial services sector and will sustain the quality of the work force as employment in the sector continues to rise
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The initiative to provide a secondary market for government securities will make trading in government securities
possible
Budget measures:
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Introduction of a special Financial Sector Incentive Scheme to attract international Asset and Fund managers to
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relocate their front-office to Mauritius
Diversify Global Business Activities in Africa through effective promotion campaigns
Set up of Financial Services Institute to provide specialised training courses to cater for the needs of the industry
Revive the secondary market for Government Securities by providing an exit mechanism to the market makers
Special levy on banks of 10% of chargeable income for segment A banking business and 3.4% on book profit and 1%
on operating income for segment B business maintained up to June 2018
Set up of an Office of Ombudsperson on Financial Institutions to deal with complaints and recommend appropriate
remedial action
Source: www.mf.gov.mu
Suresh Sewraz
Crowe Horwath (Mur) Co
Mauritius
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South Africa - Relief for Foreign Taxes Paid
South Africa has in recent years seen a steady increase in the amount of
businesses that are expanding into the rest of Africa. Africa is however
notorious for its affinity towards withholding taxes and, as one can expect,
withholding taxes and related relief is a point of concern for any person that is
transacting with and receiving payments from customers outside of South Africa.
South African tax legislation has in the past provided for relief from foreign
taxes paid in the form of a tax rebate in respect of income earned from a source
outside of South Africa, or in the form of a deduction against taxable income in
respect of income earned from a South African source. For the person who is in
a tax paying position, relief in the form of a rebate against tax payable renders a
much more favourable result than relief in the form of a deduction against taxable income.
In respect of income from services rendered, the source of income is normally the place where the services are
physically rendered. Continuous increased technological advances results in services being rendered to customers
across the globe while being physically performed in South Africa. A number of African countries impose withholding
taxes with rates as high as 25% on service fees paid. The result for South African residents was that there was little relief
in respect of foreign taxes paid on service fee income, as legislation only provided for a deduction of such foreign taxes
due to the source being in South Africa, as opposed to the rebate relief available on income where the source was
outside of South Africa. It is for this reason that a tax incentive was introduced in 2012 in the form of a special tax rebate
(the section 6quin rebate) for foreign taxes paid in respect of services rendered in South Africa.
The incentive was welcomed by many, although it came with onerous administrative requirements. One of the
requirements was that the taxpayer claiming the rebate must submit to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) a
Return of Foreign Tax Withheld together with proof of the foreign tax paid within 60 days after the tax has been withheld
by the foreign country. This resulted in a significant compliance burden to both taxpayers and SARS and many taxpayers
were not able to obtain the required proof within 60 days.
In a shock announcement by South Africa's Minister of Finance during his Budget Speech delivered on 25 February
2015, it was proposed that the special foreign tax rebate for services be withdrawn. Reasons stated were the compliance
burden on both SARS and taxpayers, and that some taxpayer were exploiting the relief. The result is that South African
residents will in future not have the option of claiming a tax rebate in respect of foreign taxes paid on services that were
physically rendered in South Africa. Instead they will have to rely on the relief provided in the form of a deduction against
taxable income, which will no doubt have an adverse effect on the taxpayer's bottom line.
Reinette Theart
Horwath Tax Consulting (Gauteng) (Pty) Ltd
Johannesburg, South Africa
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Our African Network
Contact Information
Algeria
Mauritius
Hamza & Associés
Tele: +213 20 508188
Email: h.tarek@hamza-dz.com
Crowe Horwath (Mur) Co
Tele: +230 208 8684
Email: contactus@crowehorwath.mu
Angola
Mauritania
Horwath Angola - Auditores e Consultores, Lda
Tele: +244 925 289207
Email: carlos.florencio@crowehorwath.ao
Cabinet Exaco Amic
Tele: +222 45 25 87 00
Email: info@exacoamic.com
Cote d’Ivoire
Morocco
Uniconseil
Tele: +225 08212520
Email: tiemeleyaod@yahoo.fr
Horwath Maroc Audit
Tele: +212 537 77 46 70
Email: adib.benbrahim@crowehorwath.ma
Cameroon
Nigeria
Audit & Financial Consultants
Tele: +237 33 42 1969
Email: njc.calvin@gmail.com
Horwath Dafinone
Tele: +234 1 545 1863
Email: ede@dafinone.com
Egypt
Reunion
Crowe Horwath Dr A M Hegazy & Co
Tele: +202 376 00516
Email: dramhegazy@crowehorwath.eg
Crowe Horwath Fiduciaire des Mascareignes
Tele: +262 2 6290 8900
Email: a.lala@fdm.re
Ethiopia
South Africa
- Cape Town
Yeshanew Gonfa & Co
Tele: +251 0 118693141
Email: ygandcompany@gmail.com
Kenya
Horwath Erastus & Co
Tele: +254 20 3860513
Email: erastuscpa@kenyaweb.com
Libya
Ahmed Ghattour & Co
Tele: +218 21 444 4468
Email: aghattour@ghattour.com
Madagascar
Cabinet Genevieve Rabenjamina
Tele: +261 202 221121
Email: cce@moov.mg
Mali
Inter Africaine d’Audit et d’Expertise (IAE-SARL)
Tele: +223 20 286675
Email: moussa.m.konate@gmail.com
Horwath Zeller Karro
Tele: +27 21 481 7000
Email: contactus@crowehorwath.co.za
Horwath HTL (South Africa)
Tele: +27 21 527 2100
Email: capetown@horwathhtl.co.za
- Johannesburg
Horwath Leveton Boner
Tele: +27 11 217 8000
Email: info@crowehorwath.co.za
Tanzania
Horwath Tanzania
Tele: +255 22 2115251
Email: chris.msuya@crowehorwath.co.tz
Tunisia
Horwath ACF
Tele: +216 71 236000
Email: noureddine.benarbia@crowehorwath.com.tn
Zimbabwe
Welsa International Chartered Accountants
Tele: +263 772 294 913
Email: wssibanda@gmail.com
Crowe Horwath EA, Crowe Horwath (Mur) Co, Crowe Dr A M Hegazy & Co, Crowe Horwath Djibouti, Horwath Zeller Karro, Horwath Leveton Boner, Horwath Maroc Audit, Horwath Dafinone, Hamza & Associés, Horwath Angola, Uniconseil,
Audit & Financial Consultants, Cabinet Genevieve Rabenjamina, Yeshanew Gonfa & Co, Inter Africaine d’Audit et d’Expertise (IAE-SARL), Horwath ACF, Fiduciaire des Mascareignes, Horwath Erastus & Co, Ahmed Ghattour & Co,
Horwath Tanzania, Audit & Financial Consultants (AFC), Cabinet Exaco Amic and Welsa International Chartered Accountants are separate and independent members or business associates of Crowe Horwath International, a Swiss verein
(Crowe Horwath). Each member or business associate firm of Crowe Horwath is a separate and independent legal entity and is not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath or any other member or business
associate of Crowe Horwath and specifically disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath or any other Crowe Horwath member or business associate.
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